I do a 50% water change with almost the exact same conditions. 2.5 gallon, filtered, 4 readings are safe, and my water is hard, I don't have live plants, but I live in a suburban area. 50% once a week is what I do. Good luck with your fishy friend!

Edit: in the guide, it tells you to do a 50% twice a week and clean the gravel in one of the two with a siphon, but I just do 1 50% and clean the gravel then. You could take out the extra change, or you could do what the guide says... I kind of went the rebel way. LOL.

I have 5 2.5 gallons, Change 50 percent every 3 days. I bought a piece of drift wood from Petco and cut it in 5 about 2 inch pieces. My pH has gone from 8 to 7.6. Hope this helps. I boiled it several times until the water turned clear first.

I am a new Betta owner. Or I should say that I was a new Betta owner. I bought my son a new female Betta, Hailey, and we did everything right as far as acclimating her and what not. Sadly she had a tiny speck of fish fungus when we bought her. I did not know what to look for as far as a healthy fish.

I used the medications and did water changes, and poor Hailey girl did not make it. :( I bought my son a new 10 gallon tank today, but we have not picked out the new Betta yet. I have been reading that it is better to cycle the tank for 3-4 days.

I have learned how to establish the tank, but I am confused about the water changes. It says that I should do this:

10+gal with a filterWeekly 50% with vacuum
Filter media needs a swish/rinse in old tank water a couple of times a month.

My question is how so I do a 50% water change each week. I know that I just cannot take half of the water out and dump new water in. How do I treat the new water? I am sorry if this is a stupid question. I am a beginner, so I would appreciate any and all help.

I am also confused as to what this means, "Filter media needs a swish/rinse in old tank water a couple of times a month." Does this mean I simply take the filter out and swish it around in the tank once a month? Do I remove the filter cartridge and swish that around? I seriously doubt that this means I simply swish the entire filter, body and all, as I could be shocked.

I feel stupid asking these simple questions, but I want to be the best fish Mommy I can be.

I am a new Betta owner. Or I should say that I was a new Betta owner. I bought my son a new female Betta, Hailey, and we did everything right as far as acclimating her and what not. Sadly she had a tiny speck of fish fungus when we bought her. I did not know what to look for as far as a healthy fish.

I used the medications and did water changes, and poor Hailey girl did not make it. :( I bought my son a new 10 gallon tank today, but we have not picked out the new Betta yet. I have been reading that it is better to cycle the tank for 3-4 days.

I have learned how to establish the tank, but I am confused about the water changes. It says that I should do this:

10+gal with a filterWeekly 50% with vacuum
Filter media needs a swish/rinse in old tank water a couple of times a month.

My question is how so I do a 50% water change each week. I know that I just cannot take half of the water out and dump new water in. How do I treat the new water? I am sorry if this is a stupid question. I am a beginner, so I would appreciate any and all help.

I am also confused as to what this means, "Filter media needs a swish/rinse in old tank water a couple of times a month." Does this mean I simply take the filter out and swish it around in the tank once a month? Do I remove the filter cartridge and swish that around? I seriously doubt that this means I simply swish the entire filter, body and all, as I could be shocked.

I feel stupid asking these simple questions, but I want to be the best fish Mommy I can be.

Hey!!! Welcome to betta-keeping! Sorry that poor Hailey didn't make it! Sometimes they're too far gone by the time we get to them. :(

I hope that I can answer as many questions for you as absolutely possible:
1.) Tanks take longer than 3-4 days to cycle. It is actually 3-4 weeks.
2.) You can take the fish out and take out half of the water using a gravel siphon. Then, since the fish is already out, you can simply fill the tank back up. Just treat the water once this is done (before putting the fish back in).
If you have multiple fish, or find this to be a hassle, you can always get a bucket (or a 5 gallon water jug) and fill and treat that water before pouring it in.
3.) When giving filter media a swish/rinse, I always swish it in the water that I have just taken out of the tank.

A 10g tank will cycle by itself eventually, if you just make weekly 50% water changes
---siphon half the water out with a siphon made for that purpose, available at your fish store, the small one. Replace with treated water of the same temperature.

The media is the sponge or cartridge that does the filtering. Remove it; swish it around in the old tank water you just removed; then put it back in. Do NOT replace or change it; that's where the bacteria live that cycle your tank.

Read the stickie, Betta specific nitrogen cycle in this section.

Get a water test kit. The best cheapest is the API freshwater master test kit available from Amazon for ~$20. Prime is the most-used water conditioner around here. Temperature around 80*. Cover the tank to keep in the warm, moist air that they breath. Get plants and something for him to hide in.

When I rinse them, should I just dump them out into my hand, rinse the crud off in the old water and put them back in the filter cartridge? And this won't disturb the bacteria? I just don't want to disrupt the cycle again, I had a nitrite spike, then I was starting to see nitrites in the one tank, and I did something...over cleaned it maybe, and my cycle started over again.

When I rinse them, should I just dump them out into my hand, rinse the crud off in the old water and put them back in the filter cartridge? And this won't disturb the bacteria? I just don't want to disrupt the cycle again, I had a nitrite spike, then I was starting to see nitrites in the one tank, and I did something...over cleaned it maybe, and my cycle started over again.

Hi JamieL let me see if I can help you. If I am understanding your question correctly yes you should just rinse them off in old water from your tank and put them back in the filter cartridge. I am not sure what could have caused your spike unless when you switched out the filter media you lost some bacteria or like you said over cleaned them. Good luck in getting the new cycle going again.

Hi JamieL let me see if I can help you. If I am understanding your question correctly yes you should just rinse them off in old water from your tank and put them back in the filter cartridge. I am not sure what could have caused your spike unless when you switched out the filter media you lost some bacteria or like you said over cleaned them. Good luck in getting the new cycle going again.